The Testing of the King – part 3

Matthew 4:1-11

 

As you know we are currently in the middle of a severe battle.

 

After Jesus was baptized, He immediately entered the wilderness,

And according to verse 1 that this was all according to God’s will.

 

(1) “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”

 

It was God’s intention that Jesus fight this battle.

It was God’s intention that Jesus enter wilderness university.

 

One reason was to prepare Him to be the high priest

That you and I desperately needed Him to be.

 

Hebrews 2:10 “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.”

 

When Christ became a man,

It was God’s design to walk Him through an entourage of suffering

In order that He might “perfect” Him in His high priestly role.

 

Hebrews 5:8-9 “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,”

 

Furthermore, it is the wilderness temptation that helps us

To clearly see the sinless perfection of Christ.

 

For every Jew who doubted His perfection…

For every Gentile who doubted His perfection…

 

We only have to look at the success Jesus found in the wilderness

To understand that this man truly was without sin.

 

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

 

And so thanks to the temptation, we believe Jesus was sinless.

 

Thus far we have learned two undeniable attributes of Jesus.

 

The first was HIS FOCUS

 

Jesus had spent 40 days and nights without food.

(He was intent on seeking His Father)

 

He then became hungry, and Satan saw the first opportunity.

He tempted Jesus to take matters into His own hands,

And to turn stones into bread that He might eat.

 

And Jesus was tempted to do it.

Until the Scriptures entered His mind and He remembered that “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

 

In other words, God calls His people to focus on spiritual things,

And to trust that God will take care of the temporal things.

 

And this is precisely the type of focus that Jesus showed.

He left the stones alone, and trusted God to take care of the bread.

 

Jesus was focused.

 

The second thing we saw about Him was HIS FAITH

 

Since Jesus quoted Scripture to guide His every decision,

Satan decided to use a crafty temptation against Him.

 

This time Satan actually quoted Scripture.

He quoted Psalms 91, that if Jesus were to throw Himself off of the temple,

Then God would be forced to honor His word and step in and save Jesus.

 

And there again, Jesus was tempted to do it.

(After all, this was Scripture, and Jesus was on the temple)

 

But just before He did so, another Scripture entered His mind, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

 

And Jesus remembered that the purpose of the Scriptures

Is not so that we will test God, but so that we will trust God.

 

And so Jesus decided to trust that God would reveal Him as the Messiah

According to His own plan and according to His own timetable.

 

He decided to trust God.

 

And so through the first two temptations,

We have seen His Focus and His Faith.

 

This morning we look at the final temptation,

And learn yet another attribute about Jesus.

#3 HIS FORTITUDE

Matthew 4:8-11

 

And please notice the backdrop to this temptation.

(8) “Again”

It reminds us that the devil can seem relentless.

 

He didn’t give up easily.

Jesus had found victory over the first two temptations,

But Satan still isn’t finished.

 

Luke 4:13 “When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.”

 

That seems to indicate that there was more temptation,

Than even we have seen recorded. Satan was thorough.

 

In fact we already read out of Hebrews how Jesus

Had been tempted “in all things as we are.”

 

Jesus was under a harsh attack from the enemy.

 

“Again the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.”

 

Now this is the set up for the temptation.

 

And as we said on the previous one, it seems a little strange to us

To understand why Jesus would have followed the devil anywhere.

 

Why did Jesus follow him to stand on the temple?

Why now is Jesus following him to stand on the mountain?

 

BECAUSE THAT IS THE NATURE OF TEMPTATION

(It is difficult to see and understand)

 

I’ve told you in the previous sermons, and remind you again here,

That this temptation was not as neat and clean as we imagine it.

 

There was no formal greeting here.

In fact, Jesus never even called Satan by name until verse 10.

 

And let me show you that real quickly.

(1) “…to be tempted by the devil.”

(3) “the tempter came and said to Him”

(5) “then the devil took Him into the holy city…”

(8) “Again the devil took Him to a very high mountain…”

 

The tempter is repeatedly referred to as “the devil”

 

“devil” translates DIABOLOS

“slanderer”

 

He is one who comes and gossips and slanders other people.

That is precisely what the devil has been doing to God.

“If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

(Make God prove His provision)

“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down…”

(Make God prove His protection)

 

And so throughout the text, he is called the devil, or the slanderer.

 

But it is not until verse 10 when Jesus recognizes him and calls him,

Not the devil, but “Satan”

 

“Satan” translates SATANAS

“adversary”

 

After the final temptation, Jesus recognized him.

These temptations were coming from the one who opposes God.

 

At that moment it clicked with Jesus,

And all he had to say to Satan was “Go!”

 

Now, because Jesus never calls him Satan at the outset,

It becomes clear to us that during these temptations,

There was a certain level of confusion involved.

 

These were thoughts that Jesus was literally having and entertaining

(don’t forget that He was a man)

 

He was literally being tempted to do these things.

And when He fought through the temptations by quoting Scripture,

He was not quoting them to Satan, He was quoting them to Himself.

 

And so when we read that “the devil took Him to the holy city”

Or that “the devil took Him to a very high mountain”

 

We realize that it is most likely that the devil did not come in bodily form and say, “Hey follow me, I want to show you something”

 

But rather, in a much more crafty sense,

The devil put thoughts in the mind of our Lord to tempt Him.

 

What that means is that Jesus went up on the mountain,

He started thinking about “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.”

 

NOW WHY WOULD HE THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS?

 

Because He is the heir of those things.

He is the King of Kings.

He is the Lord of Lords.

 

All of those kingdoms and all of that glory is His inheritance.

Psalms 2:7-8 “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.”

 

In one sense it is no different than a believer

Taking a moment to stop and think about heaven.

 

Jesus was taking a moment to focus on the prize.

And there is nothing in the world wrong with that.

 

In fact, Jesus is commended for having such perspective.

Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

 

Scripture commends Him for focusing on the prize.

Just as you and I are told to

“fix your minds on things above, and not on earthly things.”

 

So there is nothing wrong with Jesus

Taking a moment to think about His inheritance.

 

THEN COMES THE TEMPTATION.

(9) “and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”

 

Here Satan is offering to give Jesus what will one day be His.

 

Now some would say, “Who is Satan to offer such a thing? He can’t give that.”

 

But that’s not true.

It was Satan’s to give.

 

1 John 5:19 “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

 

3 times Jesus uses this title for Satan

John 12:31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”

 

2 Corinthians 4:4 he is called “the god of this world”

 

In Ephesians 2:2 he is called “the prince of the power of the air”

 

The point is that Satan had absolute ability to give this to Jesus.

 

Adam was created as the heir of the world, but he sold that right to Satan in the garden. Satan then came to be known as the usurper.

 

And right now, this world is his kingdom.

 

But that brings us to another question.

IF IT WAS ALL GOING TO BELONG TO JESUS EVENTUALLY ANYWAY, WHY WOULD JESUS BE TEMPTED TO TAKE IT?

 

Because of one little word I just used – “eventually”

 

Satan was offering it now, God was offering it eventually.

 

God’s plan for Jesus to be king of the world required Him

To live a sinless life, die on a cross, rise from the dead,

And someday return to fight for His kingdom.

 

Satan’s plan for Jesus to be king of the world only required Him

To “fall down and worship” him.

 

IN SHORT SATAN WAS OFFERING THE PRIZE

WITHOUT ANY HARDSHIP SUFFERING OR PATIENT ENDURANCE.

 

I hope you see the parallel to our decision to take the wide or narrow gate.

 

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

 

False prophets still offer this same temptation today.

 

They promise heaven and eternal life with no suffering and no hardship.

Of course it is a lie. That way doesn’t end in life, but in destruction.

 

True life is only found through the narrow way.

 

And this is what Satan was offering Jesus.

I’ll give you all the comforts and privileges right now,

And there is no need to suffer at all.

 

Satan was asking Jesus to take the wide road.

 

If He had, He obviously would have been putting other gods before God, and that sin would have rendered him unable to save.

 

But no doubt Jesus was tempted to do it.

WOULDN’T YOU BE?

 

Until Jesus had yet another Scripture enter His mind.

(10) “YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.”

 

Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 6:13

 

Jesus knew that what He was tempted to do,

Was not correct because it violated the word of God.

 

Furthermore, when the tempter asked for worship,

Jesus also knew who He was dealing with.

 

The first temptations made Satan a little difficult to spot,

But when he asked for worship,

Jesus knew exactly who He was dealing with.

 

Satan has always wanted God’s glory.

Isaiah 14:12-13 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.”

 

A desire for God’s glory was the reason for Satan’s fall.

When Satan asked for worship, Jesus knew exactly who He was.

 

AND THEN WHAT DID JESUS DO?

Two words – “Go Satan!”

 

Jesus didn’t rebuke him.

Jesus didn’t bind him.

Jesus didn’t mock him.

Jesus didn’t taunt him.

JESUS SIMPLY RESISTED HIM

 

1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

 

James 4:7 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

 

The art of mocking or binding or rebuking the devil

Was a thought originated by false prophets.

 

Jude 8-10 “Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.”

 

It was the false prophets who originated

The idea of mocking or rebuking the devil.

 

Jesus simply resisted him, and when He did.

(11) “Then the devil left Him”

 

We call that victory!

And it is so fitting that you and I take a moment

And recognize how to have victory over temptation.

 

TURN TO: EPHESIANS 6:10-17

 

I would point out to you one more time that there are 6 pieces of armor

And that they fall into two main categories.

 

1) CUSTOMARY ARMOR (“having girded” “having put on” “having shod”)

The armor that the soldier always had on.

• The Belt of Truth

• The Breastplate of Righteousness

• The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

 

If a soldier was ever without any of these pieces

He was not ready for battle and he was already defeated.

 

Certainly Jesus already had these on (and we must as well)

 

But I really want to point out the second category of armor.

 

2) COMBAT ARMOR (“in addition taking up” “take”)

This is the armor the soldier put on when he knew he was fighting

• The Shield of Faith

• The Helmet of Salvation

• The Sword of the Spirit

 

CAN YOU SEE THAT JESUS FOLLOWED THIS BLUEPRINT IN HIS BATTLE?

He trusted God’s plan, when He didn’t understand it.

He fought the battle in the mind, but overcome it.

The weapon that won the battle was a reliance upon God’s Word

 

We win the victory against temptation exactly the same way.

 

Jesus won this battle.

AND WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT HIM HERE?

– His Fortitude

 

He could have taken an easier road…

He could have tried to bypass suffering…

He could have tried to escape the cross…

 

But instead, He chose to endure.

And we have seen the fortitude in Him throughout the gospels.

 

One of the best passages is:

John 12:23-28 “And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

 

Jesus knew what lay ahead, yet He pushed through to it anyway.

 

And I would be remiss if I failed to reveal

That this is the same He expects of us.

 

Matthew 10:21-22 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

 

Jesus expects that we will follow His lead.

When tempted with bread, He maintained FOCUS

When tempted with proof, He maintained FAITH

When tempted with hardship, He maintained FORTITUDE

 

And by resisting temptation He overcame the devil.

THE KING PASSED THE TEST

 

(11b) “and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.”

 

WHAT IS THIS?

This is God making good on His promise.

 

Jesus didn’t make bread because He trusted God to provide,

These angels came and met that need.

 

ARE YOU TELLING ME THEY BROUGHT FOOD?

1 Kings 19:4-8 “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.” He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.” Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.”

 

WHAT ELSE WOULD THEY SUPPLY?

How about a little confirmation.

 

Remember as Joshua was in the wilderness overlooking Jericho.

Joshua 5:13-6:5 “Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” The captain of the LORD’S host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. The LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. “You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. “Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. “It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead.”

 

Joshua needed confirmation and the Lord provided it.

 

Certainly these angels did the same for Jesus.

They reminded Him that the kingdom would be His

And that God really would show Him to be the Messiah.

 

And so Jesus’ wilderness experience ends

With God doing exactly what He said.

 

Again, let me encourage those of you who are presently in “Wilderness University”

1) Have Focus

2) Have Faith

3) Have Fortitude

 

You are not alone, and God has not forsaken you.

He will do what He promises.

 

1 Peter 5:6-10 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

 

That is the blueprint Jesus followed,

And it is the blueprint for you and I as well.

 

The Testing of the King – Part 2

Matthew 4:1-11

 

Last time we met, we started on this very important section of Scripture.

• Jesus had just stepped out of the baptistery waters…

• He had just been declared totally pleasing by His Father…

• He had just demonstrated terrific obedience…

 

And now it is time for His testing.

Last week we saw Jesus enroll in “Wilderness University”

 

In the wilderness He was DISCIPLINED

(Not punished for sin, nor made more righteous)

 

But this aspect of suffering was necessary to prepare Him

To be the type of priest that He desired to be.

 

Hebrews 5:8-9 “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,”

 

Jesus also entered the wilderness for His TESTING

(Again, not God’s test, God had already declared Him pleasing)

 

This was so that Satan could test Him.

This was so the Jews could see a demonstration of His righteousness.

This was that you and I could be certain that He was sinless.

 

And as we saw last week, Jesus is literally in a fierce battle.

He has entered the wilderness and the temptation has begun.

 

It is important that we make a distinction in regard to temptation.

 

James 1:13-15 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

 

You and I know that temptation is a very real part of our lives.

(That is why Christ had to face it)

 

But it is also important that you and I understand

Its purpose and its author.

 

Testing and Temptation are not the same thing.

God tests our faith.

Satan tempts us with sin.

 

Any time in life that you feel the urge to do something sinful;

You can know that urge did not come from the Father.

God hates sin.

In fact James says “God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”

In other words, God hates sin so much

That He would never consider tempting someone to commit it.

 

Now God does test our faith.

Genesis 22:1-2 “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”

 

We don’t have time to dig into the life of Abraham,

But just know that by this point God had repeatedly told Abraham

That Isaac was the franchise.

 

And now that Abraham seems to consent that he agrees,

God finds out if he really believes it or not.

 

God tests our faith, but He never tempts us to sin.

 

That is further explained in the fact that we are told to:

“Consider it pure joy” when we experience the testing of our faith.

Yet Jesus told us to pray that we not be led into temptation.

 

And so God tests our faith, but He does not tempt us to sin.

 

Any time you feel tempted to sin,

Rest assured that it did not come from God.

 

WHO DID IT COME FROM?

Some instantly say “The Devil”.

 

James said, “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”

That means that temptation comes from you.

It is your fallen sinful flesh that tempts you to sin.

 

And in order to overcome that temptation,

You literally have to fight back those fleshly desires.

AND THAT IS A FIERCE FIGHT

 

Romans 7:14-20 “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”

Temptation comes from within.

 

SO DOES THAT LEAVE THE DEVIL WITHOUT BLAME?

Hardly.

 

Satan is like the great advertiser.

He is always looking for things to toss in front of your path

To see if they will enflame those temptations within you.

 

And that is precisely what Satan is doing to Jesus.

• Satan is on the hunt.

• He is searching high and low for that one offer to good to refuse.

• He tempting to see if he can find a sin that Jesus wants to commit.

 

Already we have seen Jesus withstand one temptation.

 

After He had gone 40 days and 40 nights without food

(Because of His intense focus on God and spiritual things – a.k.a. “fasting”)

 

Because of that 40 day fast, Satan (always the perceptive one)

Realized that hunger was a temptation Jesus might succumb to.

 

(3) “And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

 

As we said last time, Satan Hit Jesus with a legitimate physical need,

But he desired for Jesus to fulfill that need in an illegitimate way.

 

Jesus was tempted to focus on Himself instead of on God

And if He had turned those stones into bread

Redemption would have been impossible.

 

But instead of succumbing to that temptation, Jesus reassured Himself of what to do by quoting a Scripture to Himself (4) “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

 

Pulling from that tremendous passage in Deuteronomy 8

Jesus remembered that God can rain bread out of heaven if need be.

 

In short: God will take care of the bread, you seek the kingdom.

 

And by obeying that passage of Scripture,

Jesus was able to overcome that temptation.

 

And we talked about His tremendous focus.

 

Regardless of His hunger…

Regardless of His need…

Regardless of His power to produce it Himself…

Jesus chose to remain focused on what God told Him to be focused on.

He could not be distracted…

He would not take a detour…

 

And of course we are told to imitate His focus.

Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

 

Jesus had tunnel vision.

He came to this earth and set His eyes on the cross

And nothing could get Him to lose focus.

 

Now let’s move on to the next temptation,

And subsequently what it reveals about the character of Jesus.

 

His Focus

#2 HIS FAITH

Matthew 4:5-7

 

Scripture says, “Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’”

 

Obviously there are some unknowns about this story.

 

We are not told how Jesus came to be on top of the temple

Except that “the devil took Him” there.

(Some have suggested it occurred in a vision, but the text gives no support to that)

 

But the scene does pose a question to some as to

Why Jesus would follow Satan to go anywhere he wanted.

 

I don’t pretend to be able to give certainty where the Bible remains vague,

Except to again point out the sneakiness of temptation.

 

It does help to understand some of the Jewish expectations of the day.

 

From reading the gospels, it is clear to us that the Jews expected

The Messiah to arrive on the scene with a bang.

 

Everywhere we look, they want to see miracles from Him.

(And commonly more miracles, and even greater ones)

And by Jesus day, one such miracle was a miraculous arrival to the temple.

Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts.”

 

Some Jews thought this even meant that the Messiah

Might descend from heaven to the temple.

 

In fact, tradition even states that Simon the Magician later tried to claim himself as the Messiah, and that he tried to prove it by throwing himself from the temple in such a fashion.

 

I tell you that because I want you to know that

As far as identifying the Messiah,

It was clear that the Jews wanted something extraordinary to occur.

 

And so it could be that the thought even occurred to Jesus

That such a display was necessary to reveal Himself to the Jews.

 

But at that point, many would say,

“No way Jesus would ever think that way.”

 

Where would Jesus get a thought like that?

Where would Jesus get a thought that He could throw himself off the temple and thus prove His Messiahship?

 

The answer: God’s Word.

 

Jesus overcame the first temptation

By appealing to the word of God as His guide.

 

So the devil delivers the next temptation directly from the word of God.

(6) “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’”

 

Satan quotes Psalms 91:11-12

 

And again, let me remind you of the nature of temptation.

 

Satan did not walk up to Jesus with a nametag on and say:

“Hey Jesus, come with me to the temple, so I can show you something.”

(To which we imagine Jesus reluctantly agrees)

 

And then Satan says, “The Bible says You can throw Yourself off of here”.

And then Jesus responds, “Never! I knew you bringing me here was a waste of time. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!)

 

This was Temptation, this was Stealthy, this was Sneaky, this was Confusing

Satan covertly quoted a passage of Scripture to Jesus,

And Jesus was tempted to do it.

 

Psalms 91:11-12 “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.”

 

He took a passage that promises the protection of God,

And presented that passage to Jesus as if to say,

“Do you believe God will do this?”

 

His aim was to pin Jesus in to a corner with the Scriptures.

 

John MacArthur writes:

“With that subtle and clever twist, the tempter thought He had backed Jesus into a corner. If Jesus lived only by the Word of God, then He would be confronted by something from the Word of God. “You claim to be God’s Son and You claim to trust His Word,” Satan was saying. “If so, why don’t you demonstrate your sonship and prove the truth of God’s Word by putting Him to a test – a scriptural test? If you won’t use your own divine power to help yourself, let your Father use His divine power to help you. If you won’t act independently of the Father, let the Father act. Give your Father a chance to fulfill the Scripture I just quoted to you.”

 

How many today have been suckered in by that same temptation.

Go out and prove you believe God.

Go out and make God prove He can deliver.

 

In an extreme sense this is what

The SERPENT HANDLERS and the STRYCHNINE DRINKERS do.

 

In a less extreme sense this is what anyone does when they

Ignore the obvious and hold out only for the supernatural.

 

Satan quoted a certified promise from God

And told Jesus to make His God prove it.

 

It was a temptation to make God honor His word.

 

And Jesus was tempted to do it.

 

• After all, it would have been a guaranteed proof of His Messiahship

(and He had performed none up to this point)

• And the Bible does say God will protect…

 

SO WHY NOT?

 

Because that would be putting your own logic

Ahead of God’s plan, and that too is sin.

 

God doesn’t ask for your input in regard to the mission,

God only asks for your obedience.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

 

Had Jesus jumped, He would have been usurping God’s authority And that one sin, would have rendered Him unable to save.

 

But just before He jumped, another thought entered His mind.

 

(7) “Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”

 

And I have to tell you this is tremendous insight on the part of Jesus.

 

Notice first of all what He says: “On the other hand, it is written,”

 

Jesus did not deny the Scripture Satan quoted…

Jesus did not ignore the Scripture Satan quoted…

Jesus did not reject the Scripture Satan quoted…

 

Jesus simply revealed that the way Satan would have Him obey it

Was inconsistent with the message of Scripture as a whole.

 

Jesus knew that Scripture never contradicts itself.

And if obedience to one command forces me to break another one,

Then it is obvious my interpretation of the passage is wrong.

 

He was not denying God’s power to deliver.

He was not denying God’s promise to deliver.

 

But Jesus was not going to force God to do it on the spot,

For that would have been a sin.

 

Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16

Deuteronomy 6:16-17 “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah. “You should diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you.”

 

And just to make sure we understand the context and what God is saying.

 

WHAT HAPPENED AT MASSAH?

Exodus 17:1-7 “Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”

 

And there it becomes a little more clear.

They were thirsty, but had no water.

 

Now did God promise to provide? – Yes

Was God capable of providing? – Yes

 

So what was wrong with the people demanding water?

 

Because they wanted it to appear at their demand,

They had decided to force God to honor His word right then.

 

In short, they were putting God to a test

To see if He really would do what He said,

And if not, they were heading back to Egypt.

 

In Deuteronomy God commanded them to never do that again.

“Don’t force Me to jump through your hoops” (so to speak)

 

Let us remember something valuable here.

• God tests us, we don’t test God.

• We are the ones on trial, not God.

• God has nothing to prove to us, we have everything to prove to Him.

 

And so if there is a test to be given, it won’t be by us.

 

That also helps us understand the purpose of Scripture.

 

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY GOD REVEALED HIS WORD TO YOU?

 

God revealed His word to you so that you would trust Him.

He gives you His promises so you will trust Him.

Not so that you will test Him.

 

God is not some performing monkey

Whom you can demand to show up

Whenever you desire to put Him on display.

 

God works how He wants, when He wants.

His Scripture is given not so that you can use it against Him.

His Scripture is given so that you will know His will and His nature

And that you will trust Him.

 

That is certainly what Moses commanded in

Deuteronomy 6:16 “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.”

 

And Jesus applied that Scripture to His situation and realized

That Whenever God wanted to reveal Him as Messiah, He would

And However God wanted to reveal Him as Messiah, He would

 

In fact, it is obvious that Jesus fully understood this

In regard to all the miracles He worked.

 

John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

 

WHAT WORKS DID JESUS DO?

“the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish”

 

Jesus came to trust the Father, not to test Him.

And so Jesus didn’t jump.

 

WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT JESUS HERE?

We learn about His faith.

 

There are many today who succumb to this temptation

That Satan offered Jesus.

 

They step out and do something utterly foolish,

For no other reason than to make God prove Himself.

 

BUT SUCH AN ACTION IS NOT TRULY FAITH

(That action is really all about sight)

 

They are trying to get God to do something they can see,

So that they won’t have to trust without seeing.

 

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

 

1 Peter 1:8-9 “and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”

 

True faith is to trust what you can’t see,

Not to force God to do something you can see.

 

And I don’t mind telling you that I get a little passionate at this point.

 

Because I get sick and tired of the so-called “Word of Faith” movement or the “Charismatic” movement or whatever you want to call it.

 

And how they love to criticize those

Who are not into signs and wonders and miraculous healings

As people who just don’t have faith.

 

“If you just had faith, you would be healed!”

“All Carrie needs is some flax seed and faith”

 

I am tired of people attacking Christians in sickness or hardship

As being those who just don’t have any faith.

 

You answer me.

Which takes more faith?

To be quickly healed after a moment of difficulty or to endure that difficulty with perseverance for an extended period of time?

 

Let us not forget that patience and perseverance are part of faith as well.

 

Jesus was a walking demonstration of faith.

 

But it wasn’t the type of faith that forced God to show up

And prove Himself at every beckoning.

 

The type of faith Jesus had was the type that trusted God’s plan,

Even though it may have differed from His own.

 

It is the faith expressed in Isaiah 40

Isaiah 40:31 “Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”

 

It is the faith of Psalms 46

Psalms 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

 

This is the patient, trusting type of faith that Jesus had, and it carried Him.

(Not only through the temptation, but also through His ministry,

And ultimately through His crucifixion)

 

Remember the garden?

Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

 

Jesus trusted God.

 

• He trusted God would not fail to give Him bread to eat.

• He trusted God would reveal Him as the Messiah at the proper time and in the proper way.

• He trusted that God would protect Him just as His word said.

 

Jesus trusted God, but He did not test God.

 

And not only did Jesus demonstrate this kind of faith,

But He also demanded it.

 

Matthew 12:38-42 “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, ” An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. “The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

 

Jesus praised the people who trusted what God said,

But He condemned those who wanted to see God prove it.

 

This morning I want to encourage you to do the same.

 

Just as we talked about the wilderness last week,

Here again we know that there are some who are so far in the wilderness,

That they feel like they will never get out.

 

Last week we asked you to focus on God, not your difficulty.

God will take care of the bread, you seek the kingdom.

 

This morning we ask you to patiently trust God.

Don’t try to force Him to instantly appear and pull a rabbit out of a hat for you.

 

Instead trust that He has a plan (as He said He does – “I know the plans…”)

Trust that He is able to complete it (“God causes all things”)

Trust that when the time is right God will show up in the way He chooses.

 

And if you need an example, simply look to Jesus.

 

Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

 

 

The Testing of the King – Part 1

Matthew 4:1-11

 

When we met last time together, we studied what we called

“The Coronation of the King”

 

It was far more than the baptism of Jesus,

It was the divine declaration that Jesus is indeed the sinless Son of God,

And therefore the only One qualified to be the Savior.

 

This morning we move from that declaration of Jesus’ kingship

Into another highly significant event.

We move from the Coronation of the King to the Testing of the King.

 

John MacArthur wrote:

“His baptism in the Jordan declared His royalty, His temptation in the wilderness demonstrated it.”

 

No doubt as Satan heard the Father say,

“This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased”,

He certainly had a desire to destroy this all-pleasing Savior.

 

If Satan could lead Christ into sin, Jesus could not save.

His death would be for His own sin, and for no one else’s

 

If Satan could lead Christ into sin, the trinity would be shattered.

Jesus would be sinful, and Himself removed outside the veil.

 

In short, if Satan could tempt Jesus to sin,

Salvation would be impossible and God’s nature would be undone.

 

SATAN IS OUT TO DESTROY THE KING & GOD ALLOWS THE TESTING

 

(1) “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”

 

So this morning we watch as Jesus enrolls in “Wilderness University”.

Hopefully you remember what we are talking about when I say that.

 

Last February in our study of the Kings we ran across a story we called “Wilderness University”

 

• Elijah was fresh off the victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel.

• He witnessed God answer by fire and send a mighty shower.

• Elijah then outran everyone (including God) back to Jezreel.

 

Only in Jezreel the revival he was expecting did not occur.

Instead of revival he received a death threat from Jezebel.

 

• He then ran from the northern tip of Israel to the Southern tip of Judah.

• He then ran 40 days into the wilderness, sat down and asked to die.

We talked about “Wilderness University”

It is that place of testing that we are all eventually asked to endure.

 

I’ve heard wilderness university also described as:

A box canyon

I’ve seen it as my dad’s loading shoot. “That horse needs his attention got”

 

It was my mom who named it “Wilderness University”

Because this is where she claims to have gotten her education.

 

And it is an education every believer must receive.

 

And we know why we have to go to wilderness university.

 

1) DISCIPLINE

Hebrews 12:7-11 “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

 

Because we are a work in progress

And because God is in the business of sanctifying us;

At times we are sent into the wilderness to learn.

 

God disciplines us in the wilderness.

(Discipline can be either positive or negative)

 

The wilderness is a tremendous place for God to get your attention.

It is a place of extreme seclusion where the only way out is God.

 

And so it is in the wilderness that we often become

More attentive to God and He can more easily work on us.

 

2) TESTING

1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”

 

James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

 

James 1:12 “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

The wilderness is also a great place for God to determine

How much we have learned.

 

We have all found obedience to be easy when things are easy.

 

And so sometimes it is necessary for us to enter times of difficulty

To see if we will still be obedient.

 

It is a time of testing.

God is seeing what we have learned.

 

SO WE ENTER WILDERNESS UNIVERSITY FOR DISCIPLINE & TESTING

 

AND THIS IS ALSO WHY JESUS WENT.

 

1) DISCIPLINE

Not punishment for sinning, He was perfectly righteous, God was pleased.

Nor was it to make Him more righteous, for God had already declared Him pleasing.

 

Rather, this discipline was about molding Him into

All that He needed to be as a Savior and merciful high priest.

 

HE WENT TO THE WILDERNESS TO GAIN EXPERIENCE

 

Hebrews 5:7-10 “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.”

 

Hebrews 5 is a chapter dedicated to explaining why

Jesus is an effective high priest.

 

There are certain qualities every priest must have.

1) You had to be appointed by God

2) You had to be merciful and sympathetic to the sins of the people

 

Otherwise you weren’t a good priest.

A priest was one who interceded to God on behalf of man.

 

No one wants a priest who says, “God they’re hurting, but I think we can both agree that they deserve it, so don’t worry about them.”

 

No, you want a priest that says, “God, I know it’s probably their own fault, but they are hurting, and I can’t bear to watch it, what they are going through is hard, please act according to Your great mercy and deliver them.”

 

If a priest isn’t merciful and sympathetic, he is a lousy priest.

That is why Jesus had to suffer temptation.

“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”

 

In other words He learned why obedience is so difficult for us.

He learned why it is hard.

And this makes Him sympathetic when we cry out to Him.

 

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

 

Hebrews 2:18 “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

 

The wilderness was not to make Jesus righteous – He already was.

The wilderness was to help Jesus in His role as priest.

 

Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

 

This was a huge thing that Jesus endured for us.

 

And the other reason for His temptation:

2) TESTING

 

Was it a test for God’s benefit?

No, again, God already had declared Him righteous.

 

This was a test to prove to us and I suppose also to Satan

That Jesus truly was righteous.

But mostly it was to prove Christ’s righteousness to the Jews.

 

You may remember when we studied the 2nd chapter of Matthew.

We saw all those fulfilled prophecies.

 

Matthew 2:15 “He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.”

 

Matthew 2:17-18 “Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN; AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE.”

 

Matthew 2:23 “and [Jesus] came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

 

And you remember that it became obvious that Matthew was pointing out That Jesus had walked through the Jews very historical timeline.

 

Just as they were called out of Egypt, so was He.

Just as they walked through the Exile, so did He.

Just as they were now Excluded, so was He.

And Matthew chapter 4 also falls into that category.

For there was another major event in Israel’s history.

 

Sure there was the Exodus.

Sure there was the Exile.

But there was another huge event they had to endure.

The Wilderness Wonderings

 

For 40 years God had Israel in the wilderness.

And for 40 years they routinely got it wrong and succumbed to temptation.

 

Well, now God is going to put Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days

And you will see that where Israel routinely failed, Jesus passed.

 

His temptation was not only about molding Him into a priest,

But was also about putting His perfect righteousness on display.

 

He was One who always did it correctly.

And this you will certainly see as we study His temptation.

 

Now, that being said, lets dive into this text.

And I don’t mind telling you from the beginning that there are few texts

That make it easier to chase rabbits than this one.

 

We could do an entire study on the strategies of Satan.

• Attacks during a weakness (Jesus was hungry)

• Attacks after a victory (Jesus was just baptized)

• Attacks before a ministry (Jesus was about to begin)

 

We could do an entire study on the nature of temptation.

• Physical temptation (involving bread)

• Emotional temptation (involving security and protection)

• Spiritual temptation (involving worship)

 

We could do an entire study on overcoming temptation.

• Every time Jesus responded with Scripture.

• Jesus resisted the devil and he “left Him”

 

And indeed some of those concepts may indeed come out,

But mainly we are going to try and stay true to Matthew’s purpose

 

Matthew wants us to see the tremendous obedience of Jesus.

Matthew wants us to see a true demonstration of righteousness

And in order to show that, Matthew includes Jesus temptation.

 

For it is in this temptation that true nature of Jesus come shining through.

You really see the true colors of a man when you press Him a little.

 

And so as Satan squeezes Jesus, we see what He was all about.

There are three attributes of Jesus I want you to see here. (only one this morning)

#1 HIS FOCUS

Matthew 4:1-4

 

I want you to see what He was focused on.

 

So let’s set the stage.

(1-2) “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.”

 

The word “Then” indicates that this temptation

Occurred directly after His baptism.

 

In fact Mark’s gospel says:

Mark 1:12 “Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.”

 

So Jesus is still wet from the water and He takes off into the wilderness.

And while He is there, He is fasting.

 

Scripture says that He “fasted for forty days and forty nights”.

 

And again we take the opportunity to explain true fasting.

There are many today who see fasting

As some sort of manipulation tool.

 

That if I go without food for a certain amount of time or if I deprive myself in some way,

Then God will see I’m really serious and He’ll give me what I am asking for.

 

Trust me when I tell you God is not motivated by such nonsense.

Colossians 2:20-23 “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

 

Someone told the Colossians that the key to really pleasing God

Was to deprive yourself of food and to treat your body severely.

 

Paul says that certainly “looks” good, but it is no value.

 

Someone told the Galatians that circumcision is the key to pleasing God

 

Galatians 3:1-3 “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

Again, Paul says it is foolish.

HE WASN’T TRYING TO GET GOD’S ATTENTION BY STARVING HIMSELF

 

On the contrary, Jesus was going without food

Because God had His attention.

 

This commonly occurs in wilderness university.

A person becomes so overwhelmed with the spiritual realities of their life

That to stop and eat just doesn’t make sense.

 

They are consumed with seeking God, not food.

In fact, many who have truly fasted in this way will tell you that

During that time they really even didn’t feel hungry.

 

That is why Scripture says, “AFTER He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He THEN BECAME hungry.”

It doesn’t say, “When He could fight off His hunger no longer…”

 

He wasn’t hungry for food, He was hungry for God.

 

But, after that 40 day period, Jesus realized His hunger.

No doubt He was mentally and physically famished.

 

And Satan saw an opportunity to attack.

(3) “And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

 

Now before we get any further into the actual temptation,

Let me help you see the scene a little better.

 

For some reason people tend to read this as though Satan walked up and said, “Hi Jesus” and Jesus said, “Hi Satan”, and then Satan issued a double-dog-dare and Jesus said, “No”.

 

And it’s all painted real spiritual looking.

 

But before you perceive this incident in that way,

Let me point something out to you that you may not have noticed before.

 

Jesus doesn’t identify the tempter as Satan until verse 10

After he asks for worship.

 

That indicates that Satan was far more stealthy than to just

Walk right up and introduce himself to Jesus and dare Him.

 

For all we know this was just a thought Satan put into the mind of Jesus.

 

Don’t forget that while Jesus was fully God, He was also fully man,

And temptation approached Him just like it approaches us.

EVER HAD SATAN PUT A THOUGHT IN YOUR MIND?

If you say “No”, it’s just because you didn’t recognize it was from Satan.

 

And indeed sometimes it is hard to recognize.

 

And here, as Jesus was literally starved and with nothing to eat,

It is apparent that somehow the temptation came to Him

That He ought to use His power and turn the stones into bread and eat.

 

Furthermore the temptation sought to appeal to His sense of self.

“If You are the Son of God…”

 

Satan was seeking to appeal to any selfishness in Christ.

There is no way that I should have to suffer like this.

I deserve better.

 

WE’VE ALL BE TEMPTED BY OUR SELFISHNESS

This is what Satan hit Jesus with.

He attacked God’s provision.

 

“Certainly the Savior of the world needs His strength. You need food, no one in their right mind would go a second longer. But You are in the wilderness, and there is nothing to eat. Not to worry, You have the power to turn stones into bread. That’s what you ought to do.”

 

What a simple, yet sinister type of temptation.

It appealed to sense of self.

It was rooted in a genuine need.

But it came in such a way as to undermine the provision of God.

 

And if Jesus had given in to that thought,

We could not have blamed Him,

But indeed salvation would have been impossible.

 

For it would have indicated one incident in the life of Jesus

When He put His own will ahead of God’s.

We call that idolatry (worship of self)

And it would have rendered Jesus unfit as an offering for sin.

 

This was a serious moment.

• A hungry Jesus

• A conniving enemy

• And Jesus actually tempted to turn stones into bread.

 

And then something stops Him.

WHAT?

 

Into His mind comes another thought.

This time not a thought from the enemy, but a thought from God.

(4) “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

 

Please get the picture.

JESUS ISN’T PREACHING TO THE DEVIL HERE.

JESUS IS PREACHING TO HIMSELF.

 

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

 

In Paul’s famous statement about warfare,

He reminds the Corinthians that he takes

“every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

Paul forces every thought into conformity with God’s Word.

 

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

 

The idea is that when confronted with a thought,

Either from your brain or someone else’s

That you first see if it squares with Scripture.

 

That is precisely what Jesus did.

He took the thought that He could turn stones into bread,

But when He laid that thought up against the Word,

It was clearly seen as false.

 

I want you to see the Scripture that Jesus quoted.

(for there is a lesson there for us)

 

“MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.”

 

TURN TO: DEUTERONOMY 8:1-6

(by the way every Scripture Jesus quotes is found in Deuteronomy; two in chapter 6, and this one in chapter 8)

 

Now, when we read that passage some obvious things come to light.

 

1) God sent them into the wilderness to TEST them (vs. 2)

 

2) God PURPOSELY let them get hungry (vs. 3)

 

3) God fed them with manna THEY DID NOT KNOW (vs. 3)

 

4) God did this so they would learn that He has those things under control and ALL THEY NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IS THE SPIRITUAL. (vs. 3)

And according to verses 4-6

God did the same thing in regard to their clothing.

 

He supernaturally provided their food and clothing

So that they would see that God has that under control

And that they would be free to worry about eternal things.

 

NOW YOU KNOW WHERE JESUS GOT IT.

Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

 

Was Jesus hungry? – Yes.

Could He step out of God’s will and get food? – Yes.

 

But before He did He consulted the Word of God,

And remembered that God promised to take care of those things,

All we have to worry about is the spiritual things.

 

And so that is what Jesus decided to do.

 

There we see His tremendous focus.

He was focused on the eternal.

He was focused on the spiritual.

He was focused on the Father.

He was focused on perfect obedience.

 

John 4:31-34 “Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”

 

John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

 

And it is important for you to see that now.

Because in two chapters when Jesus asks you to do the same

You will know that He is a man who practices what He preaches.

 

And now, because He overcame that temptation,

Not only is He a perfect example to follow, but He is also the great High Priest who can help you win the battle as well.

 

Hebrews 4:14-16 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

RUN TO JESUS

 

The Crowning of the King

Matthew 3:13-17

 

The obvious title of this sermon would be “The Baptism of Jesus”,

After all, that is the incident that occurs in our text.

 

But when you really try to listen to what Matthew wants you to know,

It becomes evident that when Matthew records the baptism of Jesus,

He has a different event in mind.

 

Matthew has already recorded:

• The Genealogy of the King (both physical and spiritual)

• The Birth of the King

• The Announcement of the King

And the next obvious step is THE CROWNING OF THE KING

 

This incident is deliberately used by Matthew

To make yet another strong point that Jesus is God’s king

And therefore you must submit your life to Him.

 

There are four points we learn about Jesus from this text.

#1 JESUS WAS RIGHTEOUS

Matthew 3:13-14

 

Last week when we read what we said was a very peculiar statement.

(3:7) “When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism…”

 

We said it was extremely strange that the Pharisees and Sadducees

Would come together to see John,

And even stranger that they would come wanting to be baptized.

That was a statement that just didn’t seem to make sense.

 

But that statement crumbles in comparison

To the peculiarity of the statement we read here.

 

(13) “Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.”

 

While it was strange to see the Pharisees inquire about baptism,

It was not entirely impossible.

After all, they did need it, it was just doubtful that they actually thought so.

 

But this scene is literally mind boggling.

 

Here we have John preaching a solid message of repentance,

And then baptizing people as a sign of that repentance.

 

By accepting John’s baptism, you were saying:

Either an unclean Jew needing to be washed clean

Or a Gentile seeking to enter the Jewish faith

The point is,

While sinners did need repentance and the subsequent baptism,

It was still ONLY sinners that needed it.

 

And then we see this.

“Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.”

 

As Matthew Henry put it:

“Does the holy Jesus, that is separated from sinners, come to be baptized by a sinner, as a sinner, and among sinners?”

 

It really seems quite strange doesn’t it?

 

It obviously seemed strange to John.

(14) “But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”

 

“prevent” translates DIAKOLUEN

 

KOLUO means to “hinder, restrain, withhold, forbid”

DIA is a prefix that intensifies it.

 

The verb is in the imperfect tense which suggests a continued effort.

 

I tell you all this because I want you to know what John was doing.

He was really trying hard to keep Jesus from being baptized

And he kept trying over and over.

 

John has made up his mind.

 

NOW AT THIS POINT, LET ME ASK YOU

WHY JOHN WOULD THINK THIS WAY?

 

You say, “Well that’s obvious, John knew who Jesus was. John knew that Jesus was the Son of God. John knew that Jesus was the Messiah. And so John knew He didn’t need baptism.”

 

But let me correct that thought.

John did not know that Jesus was the Messiah yet.

 

John 1:29-34 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

DID YOU CATCH WHAT JOHN SAID?

I didn’t know Jesus was the Messiah until after I saw the dove.

I didn’t know Jesus was the Son of God until after I heard God’s voice.

 

So that brings us back to our question.

WHY WOULDN’T JOHN BAPTIZE JESUS THEN?

 

There are two reasons and both are fairly obvious.

1) Jesus’ apparent righteousness

2) John’s extreme humility

 

John didn’t know that Jesus was the Messiah,

But John did know that he had never seen another Jew

As righteous as Jesus.

 

John had made a living recognizing sin.

John had made an occupation of rebuking sinners.

• He could spot greed in the Centurions.

• He could spot hypocrisy in the Pharisees.

• He could spot self-righteousness in the Sadducees.

 

John knew what sin looked like,

And he knew that he had never seen any in Jesus.

 

Remember, Jesus and John were related,

And while they did not grow up together,

It is obvious John knew who He was and that He was better than himself.

 

I find this to be an absolutely amazing revelation to us by John.

Many times people claim Jesus was sinless

Simply because they first believe He is the Messiah.

 

In other words, Someone told you that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, and because you chose to believe that you also chose to believe that Jesus was sinless.

 

But John was just the opposite.

John didn’t believe Jesus was sinless

Because he first believed Him to be the Messiah.

 

John believed Jesus was the Messiah

Because he first believed Him to be sinless.

 

THIS WAS AN UNBIASED EVALUATION

John had seen His life and here on the Jordan, surrounded by sinners John was willing to recognize One who had no flaws.

 

In fact, John had finally found the One more righteous than himself,

And so John saw an opportunity to be baptized.

Jesus was righteous, absolutely without sin.

 

John saw it.

But it wasn’t just John.

 

The Thief

Luke 23:40-41 “But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

 

The Jews

John 10:31-33 “The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”

 

Pilate and Herod

Luke 23:13-15 “Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him. “No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him.”

 

That is why the writer of Hebrews said:

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

 

The point is that Jesus is and was absolutely righteous.

John knew that before he knew anything else about him.

 

Jesus was righteous

#2 JESUS WAS OBEDIENT

Matthew 3:15

 

And so at this point, we know why John didn’t want to baptize Jesus,

But we still don’t know why Jesus wanted to be baptized.

 

If He was sinless…

If He didn’t need repentance…

Then why be baptized?

 

That is precisely the answer Jesus gives to John.

(15) “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

 

Let me first draw your attention to the main desire of Jesus.

 

His main aim was “to fulfill all righteousness”

 

(Obviously this has always been His goal, that is why John could spot no sin in Him.)

It was the goal of Jesus to be perfect in absolutely every regard.

John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”

 

John 5:30 “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

 

John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

 

Jesus was not a man only interested in doing just enough.

He was a Man who wanted perfection.

 

He is not asking “which ones” as the rich young ruler did,

Jesus wants to know them all so that He can obey them all.

 

He is passionate about obedience.

And that is also the reason He is being baptized.

 

John’s baptism was from God.

John’s baptism was the intention of God for every human.

And therefore it was impossible to keep all of God’s commands

If He neglected baptism.

 

That is why Jesus said, “IN THIS WAY it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

 

God has ordained this method as important,

And therefore I must submit to it as well.

This is Jesus being obedient to the Father in everything.

 

It is no different than:

Jesus taking the Passover, even though He was the Passover Lamb.

Jesus attending the synagogue even though He was the incarnate Word.

Jesus going to the temple even though He was God.

Jesus paying the temple tax even though it was all His already.

 

He didn’t get baptized because He was sinful

Or because He was trying to make Himself right with God.

He was baptized because God required it

And He desired to be obedient.

 

(This is also the reason for our baptism)

 

Furthermore Jesus was setting an example for all of us.

Matthew 17:24-27 “When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

 

Jesus desired baptism because He desired to be obedient.

It wasn’t a matter of need, it was a matter of obedience.

 

“Then he permitted Him.”

 

Even John the Baptist understood simple obedience.

 

• The commands of God don’t have to make sense to a person who desires to obey.

• The commands of God don’t have to be pleasing, or logical, or convenient, or easy to a person who desires to obey.

 

A person who desires to obey just wants to know what the command is, all the reasons are left up to God.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

 

That was the heart of Jesus.

God commanded it, so I am doing it.

And John consented.

 

What we see is that not only was Jesus extremely righteous,

But we also see WHY He was extremely righteous.

He was righteous because He was passionate about obedience.

 

Let us remember in our quest to be Holy

That holiness is the consequence of obedience.

 

Jesus was Righteous, Jesus was Obedient

#3 JESUS WAS ANNOINTED

Matthew 3:16

 

Here we actually have the coronation.

“After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him,”

 

Luke 3:22 “and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

 

This was a literal dove, only it was actually the Holy Spirit.

He was descending upon Jesus.

 

This was His anointing

This was His coronation

John 1:33-34 “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

 

This was the designated sign of God that the King had arrived.

 

John knew that One was coming after Him,

But He didn’t know exactly how far.

But on this day John knew that the King had arrived.

 

Jesus was crowned King.

Not by men, but by God

 

Psalms 2:6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

 

Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”

 

Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

 

Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

 

Jesus is God’s King

He was anointed King by God

 

And at this point in studying Matthew’s gospel:

• If the genealogy didn’t do it for you…

• If the wise men didn’t do it for you…

• If the fulfilled prophecies haven’t done it for you…

• If the herald hasn’t done it for you…

 

THEN CERTAINLY HIS CORONATION SHOULD BE ENOUGH PROOF

Jesus has just been crowned by the Father, He is the King.

 

All that is left is to surrender to the King.

 

Jesus is Righteous, Jesus is Obedient, Jesus is the King

#4 JESUS IS ACCEPTABLE

Matthew 3:17

As if the anointing of the Holy Spirit had not been enough,

We find one more great indicator.

 

It is time for the final member of the trinity to make His presence known.

We have already seen The Son & The Holy Spirit

Now it is time for The Father

 

“and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

 

Now we have no doubts why John was convinced

That Jesus was the Son of God.

God Himself said it from heaven.

 

But that isn’t all God said.

“in whom I am well-pleased.”

 

This statement means the world to us as believers in Jesus.

 

We know that we must find a sacrifice that is suitable to God

As a payment for our sins.

 

The Old Testament was filled with the slaughter of lambs and rams

And doves, and yet people were still in sin.

(That’s why John was here baptizing)

 

Hebrews 10:4 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

 

And so up to date there was never another living thing

That was acceptable to God to pay for sin.

 

Until now

1 Peter 1:18-19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

 

After years of looking upon man and goat and sheep and bull,

God finally spotted One that He would accept.

 

It is absolutely essential to the Christian faith

That God uttered these amazing words!

 

Jesus was perfect and so Jesus was acceptable.

Jesus was righteous and so Jesus was acceptable.

Jesus was obedient and so Jesus was acceptable.

 

And let me take you just a little deeper here for a moment this morning.

 

TURN TO: HEBREWS 10:1-10

First we see the futility of normal religion

(READ 1-4)

 

Every Jew should have understood this.

 

But it is at this point that the writer of Hebrews opens their eyes

To a truth they have not previously seen.

 

He preaches an Old Testament text. (Psalms 40:6-8)

 

His text

(READ 5-7)

 

Like any good preacher, after reading the text he explains it

 

His explanation

(READ 8-9)

 

His explanation is simple.

He points out that God has never desired sacrifices and offerings.

They have never worked.

 

All God ever wanted from His people was righteousness.

“You shall be Holy for I am Holy”

 

The sacrifices were instituted because the people weren’t holy,

Not because God wanted sacrifices.

 

And so when Jesus arrived He didn’t focus on raising sheep,

WHAT DID HE FOCUS ON?

Obedience. “I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL”

(that is what we just saw at His baptism)

 

And then the preacher says

(9) “He takes away the first to establish the second.”

 

In other words Jesus puts things back in their proper place.

He put obedience back in the forefront as the priority.

 

Now (READ 10)

“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

 

• It was because Jesus sought to do His Father’s will that He was righteous.

• It was because Jesus elevated personal obedience above sacrifice that He pleased the Father.

Because He pleased the Father He became an acceptable sacrifice for sin

 

That is what we just learned at His baptism.

 

He was willing to obey.

Even when it seemed unnecessary

Even when others tried to discourage Him

 

He still obeyed and because of that God was pleased with Him.

And that is what makes Him an acceptable sacrifice for sin.

 

HE IS ACCEPTABLE BECAUSE HE WAS OBEDIENT

And that not only makes Him king,

But also the only possible Savior there is.

 

There is no other way for you to be forgiven before Holy God

Than to submit to His King and to trust in His Savior.

 

Your sin has already offended God

To a degree that you are in a pit of despair,

Your only hope is that One be righteous

And that the righteous One be willing to pay your debt.

 

That is precisely who Jesus is.

Because He was obedient, even in the little things,

He became the acceptable king and the only sacrifice for sin.

 

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

 

This morning I invite you to surrender your life to the King.

Repent of your sin

Let go of your life

Run to Jesus

 

Believe that He was sinless

Believe that He died on the cross for your sin

Believe that His sacrifice was acceptable to God

 

Ask Him to come and forgive your sin,

And to change your life, and to make you His.

 

He will do it.

He is the Righteous, Obedient, Acceptable King!

 

Matthew 16:24-25 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

 

The Herald vs. The Hypocrites

Matthew 3:7-12

 

Well last week John the Baptist nailed us to the floor.

 

Matthew introduced to us “The Herald”

The herald was the one who came before the king

Preparing the place for his arrival.

 

• Because Jesus is the King.

• Because Malachi promised that Elijah was coming first.

 

Matthew makes sure you and I know about John the Baptist.

He was “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the LORD, make His paths straight.”

 

As we said last week, he was a PLOWER

Before a farmer sows the seed, he first prepares the soil to receive it.

That is what John was doing.

 

Before Jesus sowed the seed of the gospel, John was preparing the soil,

Namely he was convincing men of their sinfulness before God.

 

John was helping people to be eager to meet

“The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

 

JOHN WAS ENJOYING A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SUCCESS.

(At least on the surface, we know that eventually Israel rejected the king)

 

(5-6) “Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.”

 

And based upon what we know of the Pharisees and Sadducees,

This sort of commotion would not be tolerated.

 

That sets the stage for our showdown this morning.

 

John’s gospel gives us a little more historical data here.

John 1:19-28 “This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, ” I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.”

It is obvious that when the crowds started migrating to John,

It caused some commotion among the religious elite in Jerusalem.

 

Apparently first the Pharisees sent some of the priests and Levites

To question John and find out what he was all about.

 

It is also apparent that the answers those men brought back

Did not satisfy the Pharisees because Matthew reveals that now

The Pharisees and Sadducees are traveling out in person to meet John.

 

The stage is primed for a showdown.

 

It is Reformer meets Religion

And that has always proven to be a fierce battle.

 

So let’s look at our showdown this morning.

There are two main points, but we will break each down a little further.

#1 THE CONFRONTATION

Matthew 3:7-9

 

First let’s just deal with what seems to be a very peculiar statement.

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism…”

 

That in itself is a strange statement.

1) That either would come for baptism

2) That they would come together

 

If no one has ever enlightened you as to

Who these two groups of men where, allow me a moment to fill you in.

 

PHARISEES

“Pharisee” means “separated one”

• Started during the Greek revolution

• Stood against Greek dominance

• Stood against Greek influence

 

They were ultra conservatives and called themselves – “separated ones”

By John’s day they had become the most extreme legalists

 

Jesus said of them:

Matthew 23:1-7 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”

SADDUCEES

These were the white collar aristocrats.

 

Where as the Pharisees were those who supposedly separated themselves from the world, the Sadducees embraced it.

 

The Sadducees were also theological liberals.

They denied almost all things spiritual.

 

When Paul was on trial

Acts 23:6-8 “But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!” As he said this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.”

 

It is strange that the Pharisees & Sadducees would come together

Because ordinarily they hated each other.

 

One was conservative the other liberal.

One was poor the other was rich.

One was seemingly spiritual the other was openly worldly.

THEY WERE ENEMIES

 

But they always managed to come together to reject Jesus or the truth,

And in this case they come together to silence John the Baptist.

 

The reason is because John threatened both of them.

He threatened the Sadducees love of the world.

He threatened the Pharisees love of religion.

 

And now they have both arrived

And interestingly enough they are both “coming for baptism”

 

But John immediately saw through the hoax

And that is where the confrontation comes in.

 

And John confronts them on three major issues.

1) THEIR FAMILY RESEMBLANCE (7)

“he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

 

They weren’t children of God, they were “sons of snakes”

Put clearer, they were children of the devil.

 

This is precisely what Jesus would later declare as well.

Matthew 12:34 “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”

John 8:42-44 “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

 

John declares the same.

He is not about to play their game, he is not about to flatter them.

 

He does however get very sarcastic with them.

“who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

 

John knew that their presence was a mockery.

They weren’t afraid of judgment.

They didn’t fear the wrath of God.

 

On the other hand they were self-justified

And certain that they were pleasing to God.

 

So in one statement John confronts them.

(“Why would you be coming for repentance, we all know you don’t think you need it?)

 

He confronts their family resemblance

2) THEIR FRUITLESS REPENTANCE (8)

“Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;”

 

These men had come on the false pretense of repentance.

John says, “OK, prove it”.

 

“bear fruit in keeping with repentance”

Don’t just claim repentance…

Don’t just get in the Jordan River…

ACTUALLY REPENT.

 

I told you last Sunday that repentance is an action word.

It is much more than just remorse

And it is certainly more than some sort of ritual like baptism.

 

For true repentance to occur

The heart has to change,

The mind has to change,

The will has to change,

The behavior has to change.

 

A person must turn around and go in an opposite direction.

 

Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”

 

John is certainly willing to allow these men to repent,

So long as true repentance is what they really intend to do.

 

John knew otherwise and he confronted them on it.

They were willing to go through the motions,

But they had no intention of repentance.

 

(It is alarming how many follow their lead today)

Willing to be baptized, but unwilling to leave their sin.

 

Their Family Resemblance – Their Fruitless Repentance

3) THEIR FAVORITE RESPONSE (9)

“and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’, for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”

 

Now John may live in the wilderness,

And he may eat locust and wild honey, but he is no dummy.

 

He knows their argument before they give it.

He knows why they see no need to repent.

 

“We have Abraham as our father”

God promised his descendants would be like the sand of the seashore.

God promised his descendants would be blessed forever.

 

And so they gloated in taking their answer to John.

“We don’t need to repent, because we are already pleasing.”

 

So John confronts their favorite response.

“from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”

 

In other words, your chief credential means absolutely nothing.

God is not impressed with you at all.

 

BEING A PHYSICAL DESCENDANT OF ABRAHAM IS NOTHING

 

Galatians 3:7 “Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.”

 

This is what Jesus tried to tell them as well.

John 8:39-40 “They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.”

 

FURTHERMORE:

John 1:12-13 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

You don’t become a child of God by birth or by genealogy

You become a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ.

 

The Pharisees and Sadducees were secure in their belief

Because they were Abraham’s physical descendants.

JOHN REVEALED THAT INSIGNIFICANT

 

• He confronted their family resemblance

• He confronted their fruitless repentance

• He confronted their favorite response

 

What they needed was repentance just like everyone else.

 

IT FORCES US TO LOOK INTERNALLY

Whose family resemblance do I have?

Is my repentance fruitless or is it evident?

Am I giving God some excuse to keep from actually repenting?

 

That was the confrontation.

#2 THE REVELATION

Matthew 3:10-12

 

These are truths the Pharisees desperately needed to know.

Not only were they not pleasing, but they were also in certain danger.

 

1) THE AXE IS WAITING (10)

“The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

 

Suppose you were a tree, and I was the owner of the orchard,

And I am trying to weed out all unproductive trees.

 

You have no fruit, so I’m gonna destroy you.

 

But you offer me excuses:

“No, you brought me out of the nursery, and put me on this land.”

“No, this is your own personal orchard, you can’t destroy your own orchard.”

“No, you can’t destroy me, I am a seed from the Fuji apple tree.”

 

BUT YOU HAVEN’T YET PROVED WHY YOU SHOULD LIVE,

WHY?

I AM LOOKING FOR FRUIT.

 

So you say:

“I’m sorry, I promise to bear fruit next year, I will change.”

 

WHAT DO I DO?

I give you a second chance, but I leave the axe right here as a reminder.

Luke 13:6-9 “And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'”

 

That is precisely what John is saying here.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were in danger before God

And they didn’t even know it.

 

They were close to being chopped down and weren’t even aware.

 

Let us ever remember that God desires fruit.

TURN TO: ISAIAH 5:1-7

 

God wants fruit.

The Pharisees and Sadducees had failed to give it.

 

The axe is waiting

2) THE KING IS COMING (11)

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

 

And I love John’s approach here.

(It is the same I try to routinely take with people)

 

And that is, “You don’t have to be afraid of me”

 

All I am is a preacher who is telling you that you need to repent,

And when I baptize you, it is only with water.

 

You see, there was nothing intrinsically powerful about John’s water.

His water didn’t do anything for you.

 

• His water was merely symbolic like the water today.

• And if you disobeyed John, he couldn’t do anything to you.

• He didn’t have the power to kill all those who refused baptism.

 

In short he is telling the Pharisees and Sadducees that

They don’t have to do a thing he says.

 

“BUT He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals”

 

You don’t have to do what I say, but He is a different story.

 

You can ignore me.

BUT YOU CANNOT IGNORE HIM

 

Reject my baptism? Fine.

But “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

 

WHAT ARE THESE BAPTISMS?

 

Well obviously baptism with the Holy Spirit is salvation.

It cannot be some secondary filling as many proclaim today,

For the first one hadn’t even come yet.

 

And the baptism of fire is obviously judgment.

Many try to link it to the tongues of fire at Pentecost, but that is a reach.

All we have to do is read this text and John makes it clear.

 

Look down at verse 12 “He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire”

 

It is obvious that fire represents judgment.

 

So John is very clear with the Pharisees and Sadducees here.

 

You don’t have to do what I say, and I can’t do a thing about it.

 

But the king is coming and it is advisable to do what He says

Because He has the power to either save you and fill you with His Spirit

Or to destroy you in everlasting fire.

 

The Pharisees and Sadducees needed to know this.

 

SO DO WE.

You must understand that judgment is coming.

Someday you will stand before the King.

 

The Axe is waiting The King is coming

3) THE HARVEST IT THOROUGH (12)

“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

 

Everything John says here reminds of

The thorough approach Christ will take to judgment.

 

The whole reason a farmer uses a “winnowing fork” is to be thorough.

He does it to make sure he gets all the grain and none of the chaff.

 

He wants to make sure that no chaff gets into the barn

And that no grain goes into the fire.

 

And the Pharisees and Sadducees needed to know this as well.

 

You are in danger and you don’t even know it.

One is coming after me who has the power to save or destroy.

And when He comes He will be thorough.

 

There is no chance that a lost man might sneak into heaven.

There is no chance of a saved man falling into hell.

 

The Axe is Waiting

The King is Coming

The Harvest is Thorough

 

And this morning these are the same things I would remind you of.

 

Many times we live our lives like either of these two groups.

 

Like Pharisees – assuming we are pleasing because of our religion

Like Sadducees – reinventing God’s Laws to make a place for our worldliness.

 

BUT THEY WERE BOTH WRONG

 

God demands perfect righteousness.

Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

 

And this only comes through repentance and trusting in Christ.

 

You see God has always been very clear on this point.

Deuteronomy 5:32-33 “So you shall observe to do just as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. “You shall walk in all the way which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess.”

 

Everyone knows who sits on the right – the conservatives.

These where the Pharisees who added to God’s Laws and became steeped in legalism.

 

Everyone also knows who sits on the left – the liberals.

These where the Sadducees who omitted God’s Laws and soaked up the world.

 

God says both have missed the mark, and both must repent.

Because they don’t even realize the danger they are in.

 

This morning can I just reiterate that to you?

Living in sin is no laughing matter before God.

Fruitlessness is no small ordeal to Him.

 

 

 

Someday the King will return and the judgment will occur

And those who have not been baptized by the Holy Spirit,

Will most certainly be baptized with fire.

 

This morning I want to offer this baptism of the Holy Spirit to you.

It is not some ecstatic experience, nor is it accompanied by wild behavior.

 

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a spiritual experience

That is accompanied by holy behavior.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

 

And this baptism comes for you when you repent of your sin

And give your life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Acts 2:37-38 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

 

That is your solution as well.

Do what the Pharisees and Sadducees would not do.

 

Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus.

He is the One you simply cannot ignore.